Collaboration

This project is one that requires a lot of collaboration between myself and the production team, and as a consequence I've created a document for both parties to access and amend. The document is a place to post and discuss the expectations and outcomes of the collaborative work. 

By using Google Docs to host this open document, we can converse freely about the work and how things are going when compared to expectation.

The document also works as a to do list for the rest of the work I need to complete as part of the project. This works, subsequently, as an efficient one stop shop for all the information I need to complete the work.

With this up and running, the next stages of development should be completed with more speed and efficiency.

Sky Replacement - Finished

The establishing shot required the sky to be replaced, and this is now complete.

By masking the backdrop and replacing it with a more suitable image, re-colouring the building and applying and more suitably angled lighting scenario, the final piece is much more suited to the style of the show, foreshadowing a dark and ominous story ahead. 

The following video shows the layers of development as the piece moved from its original state, to the finished shot. 

In more detail, the image of the building was masked in photoshop, then re-animated at the end of the process, since there is no movement required within the image. This saved time on masking the movement of the building, and allowed me to recolour the building with more accuracy and consistency. 

By placing the new background and the building layers into a 3D state, I could then relight the shot adding more depth and grunge to the look. Without the lighting the image looks fake, and therefore needs the lighting to enhance the feel and authenticity of the overall outcome. 

Without light:

With light:

Here are the settings for the light used in After Effects:

Finally, the images were animated to add some movement and dynamics to the shot. Rather than having a short static shot, the movement just finishes off the appearance, creating a visually interesting final product.

Here you can see the finished shot:

Up next is the first of the scenes, which I have received from the production team. 

Establishing Shot - Sky Replacement

Since the last post, I've added some more finishing touches to the shot.

This includes neatening the matte path throughout the shot to ensure nothing is missed that needs to be in the shot. I have also attempted to alter the direction of light from the sun, given that the sky replacement image uses a different source angle for its lighting.

This is something that I haven't done before, and is therefore a new task for me to try.

Here's the outcome of my first attempt, it will probably need some more touching up and re-colouring, but I'm quite pleased with this as my first attempt.

The shot needs some minor animation, and that will be completed when the colouring has been finalised.

Project Update 21/2/2015

Been a little while since the last post, given the limit in available footage, so in that time I've been looking at the best ways to achieve the effects that I want to create for the project.

Given a range of the shots require masking and set extension, I've been looking at the best ways to alter the images that I'll be provided.

Using some very early footage from the shows production, I've practiced how to change the background of a fairly static shot.

Here you can see the original shot, and then the first test shots of the sky in the background being replaced. The actual masking follows the movement throughout the shot, but needs a little bit of tidying here and there.

This screenshot shows the mask path edit points, which will need to be increased to ensure the masking throughout the shot is neat and error free, but shows the initial work being undertaken to test effects for the show. 

My next step for this particular piece is to send it back to the group and see how they react. During this time I'll start working on some more shots that have come through in the last few days. Stay tuned! 

Semester 2 Begins - 2021 - TV Show Animation Project

With this semester being my final semester at University, I wanted to get involved with a big creative project to complete my time at Lincoln.

A few possibilities for a final project floated around in my head, including a music video for a song based on this piece of album cover art seen below. This is still an idea that I'd like to explore, and perhaps something that I'll look into in my spare time.  

The final project that I have settled upon is a fantastic and exciting opportunity opened up by fellow Level 3 students, creating their final piece for the Multicamera module at the University of Lincoln. The group approached me with the proposal that I could create some work for their show, that I could use on my own portfolio when looking for work after graduating. The scope of work being requested is no small task, and I subsequently proposed that the work I create for the show is used as my creative output for my final project at University. This means that I can create a level of content that suits the program, but is also substantial enough for me to focus on as my own project work. If it was a mere side project, my focus would be split, and the final outcome would not be as good as it could be. This setup is the best for all parties, and will also work well to show the collaborative nature of media at University; something that will feature well on any creative CV. 

As for the actual content that will need to be created, following meetings with the producer Lucy Whitehead and writer Bobby Beardwell, I have started to look for inspirations in the media for how to achieve the desired outcomes. The show, set in the near future, follows Rowen on her journey in a world where the new government, 'The Promise', control almost every aspect of life. Only thoughts are safe from the government's prying eyes. This setting requires a range of sci-fi and semi-futuristic animations to help create the rich depth that the story demands. Characters will be seen with circuitry in their eyes and glowing red LED's attached to their necks, as well as a variety of other artifacts placed into the cinematography. One example of this is the advertising that I will be creating and placing into the scene, similar to the adverts seen in Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men. 

Whilst the adverts above look like regular bus adverts, they are moving images in the film. Follow this link to see a YouTube video full of more examples of the dystopic adverts from this film. Children of Men is a clear inspiration for the work I will complete for this project in relation to the adverts being placed into the environment. 

Screens are another aspect of the show that I will create, which is something that features heavily in most modern sci-fi films and tv shows. Minority Report and the Avengers Assemble (both seen below) are just two examples from a wide range of cinema that uses holographic displays to aid with the establishment of a sci-fi setting. 

By concurring with genre convention, not only will the outcome be recognisable as a sci-fi inflected show, but I shall have something to base the creation of these animations and effects over the coming weeks. 

My next post will provide more detail on the exact content I will be creating, as well as establishing some timelines for the creation of all the content over the semester. 

Further Designs

This post will be fairly short, simply showing the sketches and subsequent designs I've made over the past few days.
 
<Sketches will be added here once scanned>

You can see the development from sketches to final product, as well as slight amendments made to suit the screen. As with before, the best way to view these images is in fullscreen on a mobile device.

The next step will be to create a wide range of screenshots for the various functions of the application, and then construct the animation and promotional material to accompany the final concept presentation.

Homepage Designs

After a long period of designing and sketching, the homepage has been created. Whilst this is a work in progress and likely to change, it gives you an idea of the visual style and layout that the application aims to achieve.

The best way to view this image is to save it to your smartphone, and viewing it in fullscreen.

The top of the application is strongly inspired by Twitter, whilst the tiled scrolling feed more by Google and Facebook.

Further posts will come showing the design development, as well as more and more pages from the app. Stay tuned!